Eric Burdon & War "The Black Man's Burdon" 1970*****

This was, for a long time, the record I had spent the most money ever for. You see, I started collecting Eric Burdon's records after witnessing the man give a soulful performance in one of my first rock concerts at Rodon Club in '88 (hard to believe it's been 30 years already). There sure was something special in the air - Burdon himself has mentioned Rodon as the best club he's ever played in, and his concerts there were historic enough for one of them to form the backdrop of Greek movie My Brother And Me. Some of his LP's were easy enough to get - for example 1967's Winds Of Change which became an instant favourite. It contained a psychedelic version of my favourite song, The Stones' "Paint It Black". I thought he had managed the impossible, to improve on what was already perfect. And then, I heard the Latin version on The Black Man's Burdon. Oh my God, could this be even better? I immediately decided I had to have it, but couldn't get it in any of the usual record shops. It hadn't yet been re-released on CD, as a matter of fact it had barely been re-released on vinyl during the previous 20 years. I had to search second-hand shops for an original copy, which I eventually found in Monastiraki for a budget-crushing 5000 drachmas, original U.S. vinyl being ridiculously rare in Greece at the time before internet shopping. With my allowance I could afford a nice-price LP per week (then 750 drachmas), two if I kept my expenses low, but 5000 drachmas? It took a few weeks to save the money, visiting the shop regularly to check if the record was still available and to hide it at the back of the row. 

War would later become famous on their own right, but when Burdon hooked up with them he was a pop star and they were an unknown live band called Night Shift, mixing black funk and latino music to promote brotherhood in the gang-ridden respective L.A. ghettos. I initially thought the title to be somewhat paternalistic on Burdon's behalf, but apparently it's a wordplay with The Black Man's Burden, a classic anti-racist book on slavery and white imperialism. The provocation continues with the risqué album art: Burdon poses with a black woman on the back cover, the black band with two naked white ladies in the inner gatefold. Imagine how that went down at the South, where even mixed-race bands like The Allman Brothers were a matter of contention.

The provocative inner gatefold

The music mix was then still unheard of: a melange of jazz, latin, blues, funk and rock. Instead of dominating as lead singer, Burdon just improvises while the band jams, singing. shouting or rapping along to the melody. It's all very rhythmical, which lots of percussion which brings it close to Santana territory albeit looser with less prominent guitar. "Paint It Black" is the album's jewel, a 13.5-minute medley in 7 parts. Some of them are percussion and flute solos, while another called "PC3" was apparently removed from certain U.K. copies as it contained an obscene spoken word fantasy about catching the Queen "with her knickers down". Another highlight was the "Nights In White Satin" medley, where the atmospheric Moody Blues ballad is interspersed with  improvised latin passages. "Spirit" is a jazz-soul piece with beautiful sax, "Bare Back Ride" the album's sole boogie rock and "Sun/Moon" an over-long slow number. "Home Cookin’" is an earthy ballad with nice harmonies and cool harmonica by Lee Oscar (the other white member of the band), while the album ends with the wonderful politically inclined gospel of lead single "They Can’t Take Away Our Music". The rest of the album is a series of Latin funk jams, best of which being the perky "Pretty Colors". Despite the evident good vibes, the musician's instinctive interaction and enthousiastic playing, the album wasn't a success - it peaked at No.82 while their debut had gone to No.18. It'd get minimal radioplay due to its long duration and absence of a catchy single like its predecessor's "Spill The Wine". War would later perfect their sound and become hugely successful, primarily but not exclusively with black audiences - their World Is A Ghetto LP was 1973's best-selling album of the year. The first two records with Burdon are often dismissed, although I personally find them very original and exciting. I wonder if they could have grown together or if War had to ditch the Brit in order to play some truly black soul music. Oh well, no point in talking about paths not taken...

***** for Paint It Black Medley (Black On Black In Black/Paint It Black I/Laurel & Hardy/Pintelo Negro II /P.C. 3/Black Bird/Paint It Black II), Spirit, They Can’t Take Away Our Music

**** for Nights In White Satin Medley, Pretty Colors, Gun, Jimbo, Bare Back Ride, Home Cookin 

*** for Beautiful New Born Child, Sun / Moon